Arizona has a checkered history when it comes to American Indians in the electoral process. From the time Indians were granted citizenship in 1924 and until after World War II, Arizona took the position that Indians were "wards of the government" and therefore "under guardianship." Under the state’s constitution, and persons "under guardianship" were prohibited from voting.
In 1944, Arizona Attorney General’s office ruled that Indians who were living outside the reservation and who were subject to state laws and state taxation were not eligible to vote. In 1948, however, Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, both Mohave-Apache at the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, attempted to register to vote and were not allowed to register. In Harrison v. Laveen the Arizona Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiffs that their Arizona and United States constitutional rights had been violated. With this decision, Indians were granted the right to vote in the state.
Having the right to vote is only one part of the picture in politics. Getting Indian candidates elected is the other. In 2010, Arizonans have the opportunity to elect an American Indian as the Secretary of State (second in line to the governor). Freshman lawmaker Chris Deschene (Navajo) has won the Democratic nomination for the office. In the general election Dechene will face Republican Ken Bennett who assumed the position when Jan Brewer was elevated to governor.
Deschene, an enrolled Navajo tribal member, currently serves as State Representative in Arizona’s 2nd Legislative District. Showing that Indians still face election discrimination in Arizona, his biographynotes:
During his campaign for the Arizona House of Representatives, Chris faced a challenge to his nominating petitions that sought to take advantage of contradictions within Arizona’s election laws in order to disenfranchise rural PO Box voters by taking away their right to select and nominate their own candidates. The Secretary of State had the jurisdiction to step in and provide a solution for the discrepancy, but chose not to get involved. Chris didn’t hesitate to take the fight to court and won, protecting the rights of rural voters to participate and nominate their own candidates, regardless of their PO Box addresses.
American Indians in Arizona, and in many other western states, still face a battle in getting their votes to count and Indian candidates usually face an uphill battle to get elected. The Indigenous Democratic Network,INDN's List, is the only grassroots political organization devoted to recruiting and electing American Indian candidates and mobilizing the Indian Vote throughout America on behalf of those candidates. INDN’s list has endorsed Deschene.
Cross Posted at Native American Netroots
An ongoing series sponsored by the Native American Netroots team focusing on the current issues faced by American Indian Tribes and current solutions to those issues.
First Indian and Steelworker Wins Statewide in Arizona
For the first time in Arizona history, an American Indian candidate has become a major party nominee for statewide office! INDN's List endorsed candidate Chris Deschene, a Navajo and former member of the United Steelworkers, won the Democratic Party's nomination for Secretary of State in a hotly contested race where he was outspent by over $30,000.
Now Chris moves on to the November 2nd General Election where he faces Ken Bennett, who was appointed to the office in 2009. If Chris wins in November, he will become the first Indian to serve statewide in Arizona. Furthermore, in Arizona, the Secretary of State is the state's second highest executive officer. Since 1977, Arizona's Secretary of State moved on to become Governor four times. Thus, Chris Deschene will be perfectly poised to become the country's only sitting American Indian Governor. Chris needs our help to win in November! Please make a contribution now to help us support Chris in this historic race!
Chris Deschene is living proof that the INDN's List system of recruiting, training, funding and providing strategic guidance to Indian candidates works! He attended our "From the Table to the Ticket" training in 2006 where he impressed all of our staff as well as Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), the Vice Chair of the DNC, who is also supporting Chris. He won election to the State House in 2008 and is now the Arizona Democratic Party's first statewide American Indian nominee.
INDN's List would also like to congratulate endorsed candidates Jack Jackson, Jr. who won his race for Arizona State Senate and Albert Hale who won his race for Arizona State House.